Contents

History

While observing an underwater volcanic eruption from the safety of his submarine, the Alpha, Captain McKenzie noticed a bathysphere being caught in the eruption. He had the bathysphere's occupants, scientists Jules Masson and Ken Tashiro and photographer Perry Lawton, rescued and brought aboard the Alpha. When Tashiro and Lawton regained consciousness, McKenzie greeted them and introduced himself. When they asked McKenzie what nation he and his submarine represented, he assured them they represented no nationality. Lawton and Tashiro noticed a plaque in the Alpha indicating it had been launched in the 19th century. When they asked McKenzie about this, he revealed that he was over 200 years old, something the two found hard to believe. When the Alpha's doctor, Anne Barton, reported that Dr. Masson required extensive medical treatment, McKenzie reluctantly cancelled the observation of the volcano and headed back to his base of operations, the utopia known as Latitude Zero. While the Alpha was returning to Latitude Zero, McKenzie's rival Malic noticed and sent his submarine, the Black Shark, to attack it. Using some clever evasive maneuvers and tricks, the Alpha was able to evade the Black Shark and return to the safety of Latitude Zero. As Masson underwent treatment and the Alpha underwent modifications, McKenzie showed Tashiro and Lawton around Latitude Zero. While Tashiro was thoroughly impressed by the marvelous utopia, Lawton was skeptical and believed it was some kind of trick.

The next day, McKenzie learned that Malic had kidnapped Dr. Okada, a Japanese scientist who had discovered a formula to immunize against radiation and was planning to travel to Latitude Zero, as well as his daughter Tsuruko. McKenzie prepared to travel to Malic's base on Blood Rock to rescue Okada and his daughter, but Tashiro, Lawton and the now-recovered Dr. Masson insisted on accompanying him on the mission. McKenzie agreed, and made them all use the "Bath of Immunity," a bath containing a liquid that granted immunity to most injuries, including bullets. They then embarked for Blood Rock aboard the modified Alpha. When they arrived, McKenzie had Dr. Barton take command of the sub and keep it submerged while he, Tashiro, Lawton, Masson and the Alpha crewmember Kobo rescued Okada. The team used jetpacks to fly onto the island, and braved Malic's various traps, including magnetic fields, avalanches, giant rats, and a lake of acid. Finally, they reached Malic's tower, where he was preparing to dissect Okada's brain. Malic unleashed his Bat Men to attack the team, but they were able to defeat them and rescue Okada and his daughter. Malic escaped in the confusion, while McKenzie and the others brought Okada and Tsuruko back aboard the Alpha. Just before the Alpha could depart for Latitude Zero, it was attacked by the Black Shark, now captained by Malic himself. McKenzie decided to test the Alpha's new modifications, and made the submarine take flight. Malic fired the Black Shark's laser cannon into the air at the Alpha, but the Black Shark was attacked by the Griffon, one of Malic's twisted creations that possessed the brain of the Black Shark's previous captain, Kroiga. The vengeful creature landed on the Black Shark and caused its laser cannon to fire at the slopes of Blood Rock, creating an avalanche that destroyed the Black Shark. As the Black Shark, followed by the entire island of Blood Rock, were wiped out in an explosion, the Alpha flew overhead and returned to Latitude Zero.

Once the Alpha returned, McKenzie welcomed Tashiro, Masson and Dr. Okada and his daughter to Latitude Zero as permanent residents. Lawton, however, insisted on returning to the surface, where he could tell the story of all the marvels he had seen. McKenzie granted his request and sent him back to the surface on a raft. When Lawton was rescued by a ship, he found that all the photographs he had taken, along with any other physical evidence of his adventure, had disappeared. On board, Lawton was greeted by Commander Glenn McKenzie, a man who looked and sounded identical to Craig McKenzie.

Trivia

Captain Craig McKenzie was also the protagonist of the radio serial upon which the film Latitude Zero was based. In the series, McKenzie's submarine was known as the Omega rather than the Alpha.[1]

References

This is a list of references for Craig McKenzie. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

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